LPN Graduates Will Make a Difference

They witness the miracle of birth, grasp the hand of the dying and care for those who can no longer care for themselves. They are nurses. Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES celebrated the commencement Wednesday of its Licensed Practical Nursing Class of 2013. Twenty-one students graduated from BOCES’ LPN program Wednesday, having completed a rigorous course of study and many hours of real-world experience in hospitals, nursing homes and other medical settings. Terry Campbell, one of the student speakers, said that the students came to the program from disparate backgrounds and places but were leaving “with unified training and sense of purpose,” having grown in knowledge, empathy and respect. She praised the program’s instructors for their tutelage and pledged that the class of 2013 would plant seeds of giving, hope, compassion and excellence. Peggy Mataillo, the second student speaker, recalled the class’s first clinical day. “We were shaking in our boots, or more specifically, our nursing shoes, and our instructor had to push us into the room because we were afraid of the unknown,” she said. Now, however, Mataillo said all of the graduates are comfortable and confident caring for patients and most are planning to continue their education to become Registered Nurses. Putnam Valley’s Christian Brady, who received the award for “Outstanding Bedside Manner,” said it could have gone to anyone in the class because they were all outstanding. Brady said he planned to continue his education, saying “the sky is the limit.” Cortlandt Manor resident Jeny Velez, who received the General Excellence Award for maintaining the highest grade point average, said the program was difficult and she lost a lot of sleep because she wanted to do well. Her mother, Marlene Rosero, said she wasn’t surprised at her daughter’s achievement because “she has always wanted to get the best grades, even when she was a child.” In her closing remarks, BOCES Assistant Superintendent Lynn Allen recalled being hospitalized last year with complications following surgery and said “My nurses voices were the first I heard every morning and the last I heard every night…They soothed my every discomfort of both body and mind.” With her own experience in mind, Allen said, “I could not help but feel truly thankful to each and every one of you for choosing this caring profession.”